The Rebellious Teen | Part 1

Apr 29

Why It’s Such A Difficult Season

The teenage years can be a difficult season for even the “easiest” of children, but for those who are challenging it can be overwhelming. We are going to spend the next two weeks looking at teens and rebellion and what we as parents can do about it. We need to look at why it is such a difficult season for all included. First, consider that we have reached a point in our culture where teens just don’t fit in anywhere. They are the in-between. They are not children but they aren’t considered adults either. What has changed for teens in the past 100 or so years? The teens of past generations got married half way through their teenage years. This means they didn’t have to deal with their budding sexuality. They also didn’t have to function in an over sexualized culture. They belonged to something bigger than self, a family unit that probably included lots of extended family. They knew where they were needed in the family and knew their purpose. They also spent their teenage years easing into adulthood. There was a usually some kind of right of passage. They had a lot less outside influences to filter through. If we look at it in this way it shows a pretty serious cultural shift from past generations.